Revolution Failure

The revolutions of 1830 and 1848 did not seem like failures in their beginning stages, but ultimately became failures. Three revolutions that support this statement are the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Frankfort Convention, and the French Revolution of 1848. They all have short-lived success with their revolutions, but in the end their revolutions fell to stronger powers.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 is the first example of how the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were failures. At the start of the revolution, it seemed as if they had a change to win. Their student riots flustered Metternich and the Austrian government, causing Metternich to flee and the government to promise reform. But although it seemed as if they were heading in the right direction, Russia then stepped in to help Austria crush the rebellion. It ended with many of the rebels being imprisoned, exiled, or even killed. This is viewed as a failure because with the help of Russia, Austria got their power back over the people of Hungary.

This primary source shows how Russia and Austria banded together and took down the rebels. This painting is from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Frankfort Convention of 1848 in Germany is another example of a failed revolution. They were fighting for freedom from Germany and Prussia, and their main goal was to have a constitutional monarchy instead of Frederick William VI, who was the King of Prussia at the time. This convention was created to aid the revolution. Just like Hungary, the revolutionaries at first got what they wanted, and had a monarchy for about a year. But then the convention was dissolved, the constitution was rejected, and Fredrick’s forces killed many. This is a failure because ultimately Frederick rejected their ideas and used his forces to regain any power that he had lost.

Finally, the French Revolution of 1848 is yet another revolution that succeeded briefly, but in the end is classified as a failure. The goal of the French this time around was to get rid of Louis Felipe and his monarchy, and replace it with a republic. The people got their republic, but like all of the other revolutions, it only was in place for a short time. In 1852, Napoleon stepped in and proclaimed himself as the new emperor of France. This revolution was a failure because the main goal was to get rid of the monarchy, and in the end they ended up with another monarchy.

Here is a link to my group’s EduCreation on the Hungarian Revolution of 1848: http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/hungarian-revolution/13391210/?s=yyxHk3&amp;ref=app